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Candidates seek offices in local elections

On Tuesday, Nov. 6, area voters will head to the polls to choose school board members, mayors and city council representatives in addition to voting for county and state candidates.

Voters in all area cities will have just one name to choose for mayor, but decisions for council will be more mixed as some cities have contests while others have a lack of candidates.

In school board elections, there are enough candidates to fill all open seats. The only contest is in the Fillmore Central School District where five people filed for four positions. Most school board terms are four years.

Residents of local cities will be choosing a mayor and two council members in the general election Tuesday, Nov. 6. The term for mayor is two years while council terms are four years.

Canton

Mayor Donivee Johnson filed for re-election as did council member Charlie Warner. The other incumbent councilor whose term expires, Ross Ducket, didn’t file for re-election. Carl Ernst and Jason Magnuson will join Warner on the ballot for the two open council seats.

Fountain

Jim Schott, who is serving on the council now, filed for mayor, which is now held by Richard Kujath. Schott’s council term is up at the end of the year and the other council member whose term expires, Bryan Ostby, didn’t file for re-election. Colleen Foehrenbacher, Terry Hanson, Ron Reisner and Michael Root filed for council seats. Voters will choose two people on the ballot.

Harmony

Steve Donney, who was first elected mayor in 2008, filed for re-election. Incumbent council members Kyle Morem and Stephen W. Sagen also filed for re-election. They are joined on the ballot by Tony Webber for the two open council seats.

Lanesboro

No incumbents filed to retain their seats in Lanesboro, although council member Jason Resseman filed for mayor to replace Autumn Johnson, who didn’t file to seek re-election. Resseman’s council term ends at the end of this year as does Marge Drake’s, who didn’t file for re-election. The only person who filed to fill one of the two open seats is Chase Bakke. Voters are able to vote for two, so a write-in will be the only other choice.

Mabel

Mabel had just enough candidates file to fill the three open offices. Longtime Mayor James Westby filed for re-election as did incumbent Terry L. Torkelson. Adam Wilder filed for the other open council seat. Council incumbent Liz Folstad didn’t file for re-election.

Preston

Longtime Mayor Kurt Reicks filed for re-election and incumbents Charles Sparks and Robert Maust filed for the two open council positions.

Whalan

Incumbent Marlys Tuftin filed for mayor while three people filed for the two open council seats. Both incumbents — Kimberly Berekvam and Johnny M. Halvorson — filed for council as did Alesha Sveen.

Fillmore Central

Four incumbents filed for re-election as did one challenger. The incumbents are Craig Britton, Emily Ellis-Onsager, Sue Sikkink and Shelly Topness. Jennifer Pickett also filed for one of the seats, which have four-year terms. Voters will choose four candidates on the ballot Nov. 6

Lanesboro

Incumbents Lolly Melander, Steve Snyder and Steve Storhoff filed for re-election to the board. Michael Willford also filed for a position on the board. The other incumbent whose term expires — David Ruen — didn’t file. Voters will choose four people on the ballot.

Mabel-Canton

Incumbents Lizzie Hershberger and Diane Wilder filed for re-election. Traci McKenzie-Livingood also filed, so voters, who vote for three candidates, will have three choices named on the ballot. Chris Loppnow, the other incumbent whose term expires, didn’t file for re-election.

Look inside this issue for profiles of the candidates who are seeking office in contested races, including Fillmore Central School Board, Canton City Council, Harmony City Council and Fountain City Council.